Twitch to Make Sponsored Content and Promotions “Transparent”

October 3, 2014
Written by Mark Labbe

In a recently published official blog post, the game-streaming service Twitch has said that it plans on making sponsored content and promotions “transparent.”

The move comes as a way to make it clear when content is being streamed that is part of a paid promotion, or an “influence campaign.” This will hopefully make for more honest streams, with less under the radar advertising bombarding viewers.

Although Twitch has asked broadcasters to notify viewers if they are broadcasting content as part of a paid promotion, they did not make it a concrete rule that broadcasters had to adhere to until now.

While we have always encouraged our broadcasters to acknowledge if they are playing games as part of a promotional campaign, we are now establishing a much more transparent approach to all paid programs on our platform and hope that it sets a precedent for the broader industry. Simply put: We want complete transparency and unwavering authenticity with all content and promotions that have a sponsor relationship.

Do you think this new rule will make Twitch more honest, with less hidden advertisements being broadcast? Do you think it has anything to do with Amazon’s recent purchase of Twitch?